Wingshooting opportunities should be plentiful this fall

Published: Sunday, August 10, 2008

From the playas of the High Plains to the coastal marshes of the Gulf Prairies, there is no shortage of wingshooting opportunities on the horizon.

Beginning with dove and teal seasons next month and continuing with ducks, geese and sandhill cranes soon after, the sounds of whistling wings soon will resonate in the ears of Lone Star State hunters.

Thanks to waterfowl counts on par with previous seasons, Texas again will have liberal regulations when it comes to duck and goose hunting. The frameworks of previous seasons again will be utilized this season across the state, providing plenty of chances for young and old.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's annual breeding and habitat survey again showed positive results for the most part in regards to waterfowl viability. The total duck figure was just over 37 million, which was down 9 percent from last year's estimate, but is 11 percent higher than the 50-year average. Among notable population figures were those of mallards (7.7 million, down from 8.3 million), blue-winged teal (6.6 million, down from 6.7 million) and green-winged teal (3 million, similar to last season).

This will be the third season that Texas will participate in the Hunter's Choice bag limit experiment, which is designed to reduce the harvest of less abundant species. However, the aggregate bag doesn't hinder full hunting opportunities on species with burgeoning population densities.

Texas is in the Central Flyway with nine other states and is in the half that has utilized the Hunter's Choice in recent seasons. The other five in the experiment have been under season within a season limits for canvasbacks and pintails and have been used as a control.

Under the Hunter's Choice, waterfowlers may harvest five ducks per day, to include no more than two scaup, two redheads, two wood ducks and one from the aggregate - pintail, canvasback, mallard hen or "dusky" duck.

When it comes to geese and cranes, this season will be nearly identical to last fall and winter. The frameworks and bag limits will remain the same as last season, providing hunters the chance to take a variety of species on a single outing.

The Conservation Order for light geese also will be in place this season across the state as it has been for the past decade. This allows for more hunting time and more liberal methods in order to thin the budding numbers of snow geese that have staked claim to new territory and have become a nuisance to farmers and others involved in crop production.